Barcelona view central defender Jean-Clair Todibo as a ‘gold mine’ with Everton leading the race for his signature.
That is according to a report in Diario Sport, which claims the Blaugrana are confident of securing €25m for his signature with Southampton and Roma also in the running.
Last week, a report from Diario Sport said the Merseyside club were closing in on a deal for an initial €20m with €5m in add-ons.
Roma are said to be hopeful of the signing due to the good relations between the respective club boards, following on from the signing of Carles Perez in January.
Bayer Leverkusen, Milan, Watford, and Monaco are other clubs said to be monitoring the situation.
The player joined Schalke on loan in January on a short-term loan deal and €1.5m fee, with the German side able to make that permanent this summer – in a deal which would include a €50m buyback for Barca – but now everything has changed.
Todibo only joined the Catalan giants in January last year, ending a long running contractual dispute with previous club Toulouse in Ligue 1.
The 20-year-old has only been involved in four La Liga matches across the calendar year – with two of his three starts coming after the league title was secured last season.
After being forced to play with the youth team at Toulouse, following his standoff with the club’s management, he was short of match fitness when he arrived at the Camp Nou but was never granted a run in the first-team.
